In just a few short weeks, I hope to see you in Chicago for what I believe to be the premier event in neurosurgical education, the AANS Annual Meeting. Whether you will be attending for the 50 or so continuing medical education credits available, to learn first-hand what’s new in neurosurgery, to see old friends and network with new ones, or because you already love the dynamic and cosmopolitan yet friendly city that is Chicago, I can assure you that this 2008 meeting will be one event well worth your while.
Tim Mapstone and the Annual Meeting Committee have devised an enlightening, thought-provoking and entertaining meeting, the theme of which is Focus on Learning. The meeting will open with a reception at Navy Pier, which offers a spectacular view of downtown Chicago as it stretches along Lake Michigan. The scientific program, planned by Sander Connolly and the Scientific Program Committee, will feature the latest in technological innovations and scientific advances in all areas of neurosurgery.
I would be remiss if I failed to note that this meeting is made possible not only through the thoughtful planning and diligent work of many of our colleagues in neurosurgery as well as AANS staff, but also with the support of industry. As recent newspaper headlines and the cover story of this issue remind us, the relationship between neurosurgery and industry is something to be recognized and scrutinized, appreciated and viewed with healthy skepticism.
As a member of the AANS Board of Directors since 1999 as well as a recent chair of the AANS Development Committee, I have been actively involved in developing partnerships with industry as well as wrestling with the complicated questions related to this involvement. I can assure you that industry involvement in AANS activities occurs with continuing oversight, evaluation and reevaluation by neurosurgeons who are concerned that the integrity of our professional association is upheld.
The leadership consensus in recent years has been that AANS partnerships with industry are appropriate as long as the AANS establishes clear guidelines for them and ensures that they are scrupulously followed. A summary of current guidance for AANS-industry relationships appears in the cover section.
It is important to note that, as in neurosurgery, a strategy or therapy that works today may be antiquated tomorrow. New circumstances and ideas certainly will lead to evolution of the guidelines that are now in place. AANS leadership will remain ever vigilant in its relationship with industry as well as responsive to the needs and ideas of AANS members and the neurosurgical community and the expectations of the public with respect to that relationship. Most of all, as neurosurgeons we will be ever mindful of our ethical responsibilities to our patients.
With clear guidance in place for both neurosurgery and industry, the AANS can ensure that its focus remains on learning.
Jon H. Robertson, MD, is the 2007-2008 president of the AANS and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tenn. Dr. Robertson reported no conflicts for disclosure.